Patent Application
20120047682
The present invention relates to dirt cups for vacuum cleaners, and more particularly to exhaust tubes for cyclonic separation chambers.
Cyclonic separation is a common method of separating dirt and debris from an airflow being sucked up or vacuumed by a vacuum cleaner. Cyclonic separation takes place within a cyclonic chamber. An air intake leading to the cyclonic chamber initiates a swirling or cyclonic airflow within the cyclonic chamber. Dirt and debris are directed in a radially outward direction thereby separating from the relatively cleaner air which is removed from the cyclonic chamber from a radially inward position. In some vacuums, the air is removed by an exhaust tube that extends downwardly from the top of the cyclonic chamber and along the central axis of the cyclonic chamber.
The present invention provides, in one aspect, a vacuum cleaner including a cyclonic chamber, a filter chamber, and an exhaust tube. The cyclonic chamber includes an inlet for introducing airflow for circulation around a central axis of the cyclonic chamber. The filter chamber is positioned downstream of the cyclonic chamber and includes a wall. The filter is positioned in the filter chamber. The exhaust tube extends along the central axis into the cyclonic chamber and includes an inlet portion receiving the airflow from the cyclonic chamber and an outlet portion directing the airflow toward the filter chamber and the filter, which is in close proximity to the outlet portion. The cross-sectional area of the outlet portion increases in the downstream direction to reduce the speed of the airflow passing into the filter chamber and to evenly distribute the airflow passing through the outlet opening across the filter.
The present invention provides, in another aspect, a vacuum cleaner including a housing having a central axis and an outer wall extending from a first end to a second end. The outer wall defines an air inlet between the first end and the second end. A lid assembly is selectively, movably coupled to the first end. The housing and lid assembly at least partially define a dirt collection chamber. A shroud is disposed within the housing. The shroud and the outer wall at least partially define a first cyclonic separation region. A cyclone body is at least partially disposed within the shroud and at least partially defines a second cyclonic separation region. An exhaust tube is coupled to the second end. The exhaust tube includes an inlet portion and an outlet portion. The inlet portion extends into and receives air from the second cyclonic separation region. The inlet portion has a substantially uniform cross sectional area. The outlet portion is downstream of the inlet portion, and has an increasing cross-sectional area in the downstream direction. A cover member is coupled to the exhaust assembly downstream of the outlet portion. The cover member and exhaust assembly define filter chamber. A filter member is disposed in the filter chamber and separated from the exhaust assembly outlet portion by an air gap. The filter member receives a substantially evenly distributed airflow from the exhaust assembly outlet portion.
Other features and aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As shown in
The cover 26 is detachably secured to the container 24 at the top end 38. The cover 26 is secured by a twist-lock or other suitable relationship between the cover 26 and the container 24. The cover 26 includes a handle 60 and a release switch 62 with a locking protrusion 64. The release switch 62 detachably secures the dirt cup assembly 12 to the body 14. The locking protrusion 64 engages a corresponding locking lip (not shown) on the body 12 when the release switch 62 is in a locked position. In an unlocked position, the locking protrusion 64 does not engage the locking lip, thereby allowing the dirt cup assembly 12 to be detached from the body 14. The cover 26 is coupled to the cover insert 28 which includes fins 66 that project downwardly away from the cover 26 to contact the top surface of the filter 30. The cover 26 also defines an air outlet 68 that exits the cover 26 and leads to the motor and fan assembly 22.
The exhaust tube 32 is coupled to the open top end 38 of the container 24 and projects into the cyclone assembly along a central axis A of the cyclone assembly 34. The exhaust tube 32 includes an inlet portion 70 for receiving the airflow from the cyclonic chamber and an outlet portion 72 for directing the airflow toward the filter 30, which is disposed in close proximity to the outlet portion 72. The inlet portion 70 includes a flow straightener in the form of intersecting vanes that assists in reducing turbulence of the airflow passing into the exhaust tube 32. The cross-sectional area of the outlet portion increases in the downstream direction to reduce the speed of the airflow passing into the filter 30 and to evenly distribute the airflow passing through the outlet opening across the filter 30. There is no structure present between the filter 30 and the outlet portion 72, and therefore there is no structure that physically interferes with the airflow exiting the outlet portion 72 and entering the filter 30. The exhaust tube 32 defines a substantially constant diameter D1 over a portion of its length. The outlet portion 72 is defined by an arcuate wall rotated about the central axis A. The arcuate wall defines a radius R, which is at least 15% of the diameter D1. In some embodiments, the radius R is between 15% and 50% of the diameter D1, and in yet other embodiments, the radius R is between 15% and 25% of the diameter D1.
The outlet portion 72 increases from the diameter D1 to an outlet opening 74 having a diameter D2 on an upper wall 76 of the exhaust tube 32. The outlet opening diameter D2 is approximately twice the diameter D1. The exhaust tube 32 also includes an upwardly extending sidewall 78 disposed on the upper wall 76. A perimeter 80 of the filter 30 is supported by the sidewall 78 such that a gap 82 is provided between the upper wall 76 and a bottom of the filter 30. The gap 82 has a distance D3 of at least 5% of the diameter D1 and less than 5 times the diameter D1. In some embodiments, the gap distance D3 is between 5% and 50% of the diameter D1, in other embodiments, the gap distance D3 is between 5% and 25% of the diameter D1, and in yet other embodiments, the gap distance D3 is between 5% and 10% of the diameter D1.
A filter chamber 84 is positioned downstream of the cyclonic chamber and is defined by the upper wall 76 of the exhaust tube 32 (i.e., the bottom wall of the filter chamber 84), the sidewall 78 of the exhaust tube 32 (i.e., the sidewall of the filter chamber 84), and the cover insert 28 (i.e., the top wall of the filter chamber 84). As discussed above, the filter 30 is positioned in the filter chamber 84. The exhaust tube 32 including the flow straightener, the upper wall 76, and the sidewall 78 is integrally formed as a single molded component.
The lid 36 is pivotally connected to the container 24 by a hinge 86 located near the bottom end. The lid 36 pivots about the hinge 86 between a closed position (shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
During use of the vacuum cleaner 10, the suction source 22 draws dirty air through the suction nozzle 18 to the tangential air inlet 46 in the container 24. The dirty air enters the dirt cup assembly 12 through the tangential air inlet 46 and is swirled in a cyclonic manner between the interior surface 42 of the container 24 and the cyclone assembly 34. This cyclonic action separates relatively large dirt particles from the dirty air. These relatively large dirt particles are collected in the first dirt collection chamber. The partially cleaned air flows through the perforated section 96 of the shroud 90 to the cyclone air inlet 98. The partially cleaned air is swirled in a cyclonic manner within the cyclone 88. This cyclonic action separates relatively small dirt particles from the partially cleaned air. These relatively small dirt particles exit the cyclone through the dirt outlet 100 and are collected in the second dirt collection chamber. The cleaned air passes through the exhaust tube 32, the filter 30, and the air outlet 68 to the suction source 22, and is finally exhausted from the vacuum cleaner 10.
To empty the dirt cup assembly 12, the dirt cup assembly 12 is released from the body 14 by sliding the release switch 62 from the locked position to the unlocked position. Then, the dirt cup assembly 12 is detached from the body 14. The dirt cup assembly 12 is then positioned above a trash can or other waste container and the lid 36 is opened to empty the dirt collected in the first dirt collection chamber and the second dirt collection chamber into the trash can. After the dirt cup assembly 12 is emptied, the lid 36 is returned to the closed position and the dirt cup assembly 12 is secured to the body 14.
Various features of the invention are set forth in the following claims.
The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/379,212, filed Sep. 1, 2010, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61379212 | Sep 2010 | US |
